Walker Handle Modification

Being 92 years old
wasn't holding Jean Rundle back from having an active lifestyle, but her walker
was.

Jean still enjoyed
getting out into the community to shop and meet with friends, but arthritis
made it painful for her to grip the handles on her walker. Without the ability
to use her walker, Jean was stuck at home.

So her daughter,
Julie, who works at the University of Victoria, suggested she ask CanAssist for
help.

“Jean's arthritis
made it difficult for her to curl her thumbs around the walker's handlebars,”
Mike Jackman, of CanAssist's mechanical engineering team, explains. “But
holding her thumbs straight out was also causing unnecessary strain.”

So CanAssist bought
special rubber handle grips from a local medical equipment store. The new
handles had a critical feature: a fin that protrudes where Jean could rest her
thumbs.

Mike modified the new
grips so they would fit on Jean's walker and then placed them in a position so
her hands could rest comfortably.

“It's a very small
modification, but it really made a world of difference to Jean,” says Mike.

On delivery day, it
was clear that Jean was thrilled with the results.

“It's perfect! That's
where my thumbs should be!” she said. To show just how happy her thumbs were
with the new arrangement, Jean gave everyone a big thumbs up.